Infected third branchial cleft cyst: retropharyngeal extension to the superior mediastinum.

The presentation of an infected branchial cleft cyst extending into the retropharyngeal space is extremely rare. However, differentiation of this lesion from a simple retropharyngeal abscess is important for surgical planning. The authors describe a 44-year-old woman in whom an infected third branchial cleft cyst was initially misdiagnosed as an abscess and drained surgically.

Postcontrast MRI of cranial meninges: leptomeningitis versus pachymeningitis.

Objective: Our goal was to characterize the patterns of meningeal enhancement in postcontrast MR images and correlate these patterns with the clinical disorders.

Materials And Methods: The MR scans, medical records, and laboratory findings of 83 patients, whose postcontrast MR studies of the head demonstrated meningeal enhancement, were reviewed retrospectively. The patterns of enhancement of the different layers of the meninges were divided into two types: leptomeningeal (pia and arachnoid), when enhancement of the meninges followed the convolutions of the gyri and/or involved the meninges around the basal cisterns; and pachymeningeal (dura), when the enhancement was thick and linear or nodular along the inner surface of the calvarium, falx, or tentorium without extension into the cortical gyri or basal cistern involvement.

Idiopathic hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis: a case report.

Hypertrophic pachymeningitis is a rare fibrosing inflammatory process involving dura mater and tentorium. In this report we are presenting contrast enhanced MRI findings of an unusual case of pachymeningitis which presented with a periorbital mass due to dural sinuses occlusion and retrograde filling of periorbital veins through superior sagittal sinus.

Central nervous system tuberculosis: MRI.

The MRI findings of 18 proven cases of central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis were reviewed; 10 patients were seropositive for HIV. All had medical, laboratory, or surgical proof of CNS tuberculosis. Eleven patients had meningitis, of whom two also had arachnoiditis.

Imaging of pregnancy-related complications.

Thirty-six cases of pregnancy-related complications were studied with plain radiography, ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging alone or in combination. Among the complications diagnosed with these various techniques were venous thromboembolic disorders, deep vein thrombosis, ovarian vein thrombosis, endometritis and pyometra, HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet counts), hepatic hematoma and rupture, fatty liver, uterine rupture, various hematomas and a foreign body, tubo-ovarian abscess, cerebral venous thrombosis, cerebral ischemia, and cerebral edema. Prompt detection and appropriate management of many of these complications could result in decreased maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity.